Builders race to save football's Eagles from Billy Penn jinx

Canadian Press

Published: Nov 30, 2017 at 7:17 a.m.

Updated: Nov 30, 2017 at 8:30 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA — Superstitious construction workers have placed a small statue of Philadelphia's founder atop the city's newest skyscraper in an effort to save the NFL-leading Philadelphia Eagles from a fabled jinx.

Philly.com reports the William Penn figurine was affixed to the Comcast tower's highest beam Monday after builders decided waiting for a topping-off ceremony was too risky.

Believers in the Curse of Billy Penn say it doomed the city's sports teams for decades after the city's first skyscraper broke tradition and rose higher than the William Penn statue topping City Hall.

In 2007, the situation was rectified with a statuette placed atop a taller skyscraper. The next year, the Phillies won the World Series.

When construction of the new 1,121-foot-tall tower broke the height record, workers were eager to restore Penn to his rightful perch.